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Combat Climate Change
Combat Climate Change BRIEF Climate change is an existential threat to humanity and our way of life. It should be a top priority of the federal government to implement policies to control anthropogenic climate change while working with other governments to implement these policies throughout the world. It’s important to regulate fossil fuels, both to control climate change and to improve the health of the average American. Renewable energy must be invested in, not only as a means of moderating climate change but also to drive economic growth. However, innovation must also be relied on to reverse the damage already caused. While the role of the federal government is important, much of the work will be done at the state, or even neighborhood, level. The federal government should support local efforts through funding and market-based incentives. Climate change is up there with automation as a society-wide threat. Parts of Florida and Virginia are already experiencing flooding and hurricanes are more powerful and frequent. This is exactly the kind of problem that government must rise to meet. As much as we must evolve and take responsibility, the U.S. only emits 15% of the world’s greenhouse gases – this is a global problem. We should invest resources in large-scale geo-engineering measures like shoring up glaciers and reducing solar exposure to counteract the effects of climate change even as we reduce our emissions. Waiting around for the oceans to rise is not the American way. If we don’t adopt and lead in geoengineering, China will wind up making decisions for us when it decides to modify the climate in about 20 years. PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED *Energy bills make up a substantial portion of the average American’s expenses *Americans are suffering from higher rates of asthma, emphysema, COPD, and other respiratory diseases because of pollution from burning fossil fuels *People want to do more to combat climate change but don’t know how, or can’t afford the high start-up costs of “going solar” *Burning fossil fuels indiscriminately for over a century has done damage to the environment *We are not truly addressing global warming and rising sea levels, only slowing the rate of change Goals *Make it easier for the average American to contribute to the solutions to climate change *Bring down household electric bills *Coordinate community efforts and successes in climate change *Invest in innovation towards reversing the effects of climate change Guiding Principles *Innovation *Coordination As President, I will… *Invest heavily in carbon capture and geoengineering technologies designed to reverse the damage already done to the environment through a new Global Geoengineering Institute and invite international participation. *Invest in any idea that has the potential to reverse the damage done to the environment, for example cloud-seeding technology to increase the atmosphere’s reflectivity. *End the current tax benefits and cuts given to fossil fuel companies which give them an unwarranted competitive advantage over alternative energy sources. *Institute a tax on emissions that will fund health care initiatives and research for respiratory diseases that are a direct result of these emissions. *Empower and appoint an action-oriented leader of the EPA and direct the EPA to regulate carbon emissions. *Direct the EPA to survey the states and private organizations to collate all programs designed to promote renewable energy adoption. *Direct the EPA to coordinate with state and local governments to measure the impact of different policies on effecting positive impacts in the area of renewables adoption. *Prioritize sustainable infrastructure and urban development to take advantage of new materials and designs.